Combat

Enemies and Foes

Your character will face two types of NPCs in combat - Enemies and Foes^[1].

Enemies are common footsoldiers, bandits, guards and so on - up to a fight if pressed, but not professional warriors. They make up the ranks of petty thugs through which a hero must wade to get to his objective. PCs are qualitatively superior to their Enemies and gain a number of advantages over them in combat.

Foes, on the other hand, are important personalities who present a major challenge to the characters. PCs have no special advantage over Foes.

Types of Combat

There are three types of combat in ZeFRS - melee, missile, and magic. Melee and missile combat are explained in this section; see the magic section for an explanation of using magic.

Melee occurs whenever a character fights with either his bare hands or a non-projectile weapon. Only those opponents within his reach, or within the reach of his weapon, may be attacked in melee.

Missile combat occurs whenever a character uses a weapon that leaves his hands. He may fire an arrow, throw an axe or a dagger, or push a rock down onto his enemies. The result of missile combat depends on his aim and how quick his opponents are. A character cannot use a missile weapon if an enemy is attacking him via melee.

Using Talent Pools

Whenever your character tries to strike someone, you must know his Fighting Talent rating for that weapon. If he has a rating for that weapon, use that rating or his General Fighting rating, whichever is higher. If your character does not have a rating with the weapon, the rating is the General Fighting rating.

Esmis has a General Fighting rating of 2 and a Dirk Fighting rating of 7. If Esmis attacks his enemy with a dirk, he uses the 7 (Dirk Fighting). If he tries to wrestle his enemy to the ground, he uses the 2, since he has no talent rating for Wrestling.

How to Hit

The process of determining whether an attack strikes home is the same for missile and melee combat.

To attack, make a resolution check against your character's rating with the weapon being used, minus the opponent's Movement or General Prowess from your rating. The result shows whether the attack succeeded as well as the base damage inflicted (see below).

When an opponent attacks your character, your Movement or General Prowess Talent rating is subtracted from the attacker's weapon talent rating. The assailant makes a resolution check against that modified number.

The Combat Turn

Combat in ZeFRS is divided into 5-second Combat Turns. This is considered the amount of time necessary to complete one action and prepare for another. These 5-second combat turns are the basic units of game time. Game time is inevitably much different from real-world time. Suppose Galya Eyepiercer tips over a table, grabs up her sword, smashes a lamp, and strikes at an enemy in the darkness. This takes Galya four Combat Turns (20 seconds) of game time. It takes much more real-world time ^[2] - for resolution checks to be made and the referee to figure out what happens next - to settle the outcome.

Steps in the Combat Turn

A combat turn may have up to five steps. Not all of them need occur in every turn.

1. Check for surprise

2. Declare action

3. Determine initiative

4. Resolve actions in initiative order

5. Repeat until hostilities are over

Being Taken Off Guard

At the start of each combat, check to see whether any of the combatants are surprised. Those who are not will gain extra actions against those who are.

Check for surprise at the beginning of each combat, plus whenever a new fighter enters the fray.

Each fighter makes a check against her/his Animal Reflexes or General Prowess rating. Each level of success grants one advantage; thus, white gives no advantage, green gives one, and so on up to four. Opponents compare total advantage; if one has more than the other, that fighter gets a number of free actions equal to the difference.

Jackal the Reaver and Dural Besh have both set out to rob the mansion of a rich merchant. They stumble across one another in the hall to the servants' quarters. Jackal gets an orange result (three advantages); Besh gets a yellow result (two advantages). Jackal gets one free action to flee, try to silently shiv Besh, start a hushed parlay, or attempt anything else he could do in one combat turn.

In a fight with only a small number of participants, each checks for advantage separately against their personal opponent.

Jackal and Besh have joined forces to carry away a very heavy chest of gold. They meet two of the merchant's house guard. Jackal, Besh, and the two guards each determine advantage. This time Jackal gets a green result (one) and his opponent gets one. Besh scores two again, but his opponent flubs the roll and gets none. Besh can take two unanswered actions against his opponent.

Whenever there are a large number of participants in a fight, each side checks for advantage as a group, using whoever's Animal Reflexes or General Prowess rating is highest.

When a new combatant enters the fight, only the individual that new combatant attacks checks for advantage.

Not surprisingly, Besh and Jackal are now fighting the guards. The noise has roused another guard, who comes hurtling around the corner. He decides to go after Jackal. The new guard and Jackal check for advantage against one another.

Declaring Action

At the beginning of each combat turn, all participants state their intended actions. Possible actions fall under one of five broad categories:

1. Fight: Take some action intended to injure your opponent, from armed attack to dropping a rock on him. If you choose to attack, you must state who you will attack and what part of the body you're aiming for.

2. Defend: Take action to avoid injury; this could mean parrying, dodging, blocking with a shield, and so on. You can only defend actively against one attack per combat turn, and must state how you are defending.

3. Move: Run, crawl, jump, swing, swim - whatever is physically possible under the circumstances. You must declare where and how you are moving.

4. Use Magic: The caster of a spell must declare which spell is being cast and its intended target.

5. Wait: You may declare that you're holding your action until a certain condition arises. When and if it does, you can try to act first.

Galya is talking with two rogues in a market square. She isn't sure whether they know there's a price on her head, so she's watching them closely. If one of them makes a move to grab her, she'll try to whip out her dagger and skewer him first.

Initiative

After actions are declared, all attacking participants in a combat roll d10 and add their Animal Reflexes, Movement, or General Prowess rating, whichever is highest, plus the Initiative Bonus of their weapon. (Some weapons have a positive or negative Initiative Bonus, reflecting how quickly they can be brought to bear.) Characters who are defending or waiting do not roll.

If the number of combatants is small, each rolls initiatively individually. If you think the number of fighters is too large, roll collectively using the highest Animal Reflexes, Movement or General Prowess rating on each side. In the latter case, do not add weapon Intiative Bonus unless everyone on a given side is using the same weapon.

Fighters act in order of highest total to lowest.

If you have been waiting, when the condition you were waiting for arises, make a resolution chart check against your Animal Reflexes or General Prowess rating. If the result is white, you weren't fast enough; the opponent acts first. On any colored result, you may act first.

One of the rogues suddenly tries to lasso Galya with some cloth he snatches up from a nearby stall. Galya rolls against her General Prowess of 2 and gets a 52. That's green; good enough. She grabs the fabric with one hand and pulls her assailant onto the point of her dagger.

Every time you wait, you must check to see whether you beat your opponent to the punch. If you fail, not only does the opponent go first, but if you want to engage someone else, you must again check against your Animal Reflexes or General Prowess rating, this time against the new opponent. If you fail again and try to go after a third opponent, you must repeat the process again, and so on. An unbroken series of bad breaks will leave you going last in that combat turn!

Multiple Actions

You may attempt to carry out more than one action in a combat turn, but must state that you're doing so during action declarations, before initiative is rolled. You must also specify the order in which you intend to perform the actions.

Your first action is carried out normally. For the second and subsequent ones, make a check on the resolution chart check against your Animal Reflexes or General Prowess rating. If you score a red result, you may proceed with the additional action. On any other result, you cannot take the action and suffer a -3 penalty on all resolution checks for the rest of this combat turn and all of the next.

Foes can choose to take multiple actions. Enemies cannot.

Armed Melee

Melee can only take place between opponents who are within reach of each other's weapons. Usually this will mean that the combatants must be adjacent.

When you make an attack, you must specify your aiming point. There are seven aiming points: head, chest, right and left arm, gut, and right and left leg. Needless to say, in certain situations some points may be unreachable. A fighter on foot can strike only at the legs, gut and chest of a mounted opponent, unless the unmounted fighter is wielding a weapon that has a positive Initiative Bonus. Conversely, the mounted fighter cannot strike at the unmounted opponent's legs unless using a weapon that has a positive Initiative Bonus.

Unarmed Melee and Special Actions

Brawling

Brawling is a catchall term for combat involving kicking, punching, headbutting - anything other than grappling a foe. Brawling damage is reduced by 2 points. Brawling also has a different set of specific wounds from armed combat.

Wrestling

Anyone can attempt to grapple, although obviously trained wrestlers are much better at it. If you intend to grapple, during action declaration you must describe what your character is trying to do. Then, when your character's turn to act comes around, make a resolution check against your Wrestling or General Fighting rating minus your opponent's Movement rating. On any result but white, your grapple succeeds. Only a red result causes actual damage, though, and even then only 1 point plus the attacker's Strength Bonus.

Esmis is hiding behind some wine barrels in a cellar. The warriors searching for him pass a little too close for comfort; he decides to sweep one's feet and make a run for it. Esmis has a Wrestling rating of 5. His target has a Movement of 2. Esmis rolls against a modified rating of 3 and gets a 27. Success! The warrior finds himself first horizontal, then plummeting to the floor as Esmis dashes past. Because Esmis scored only an orange result, though, the fall inflicts no actual damage.

Rushing and Bashing

A rush lets your character charge through a group of hostile individuals to the other side. A rush is always a straight line, and anyone who wanders into the path of a rush in progress is automatically rushed as well.

To rush, make a resolution check against your character's Movement or General Prowess rating minus the target's Movement or General Prowess rating ^[3]. On a white result, the rush fails and your character is knocked down. On a green, yellow, or orange result, your character has made it through to the other side. The rushed character, however, can still take an action and may choose to attack you as you pass. On a red result, you have bowled over your opponent and he can take no action for the rest of the turn other than climbing to his feet. A rush never does damage.

A shield bash is a rush performed by a character who is carrying a shield. There are two varieties of shield bash. The first is a rush that uses the character's shield to knock down the opponent. This is resolved in exactly the same manner as a regular rush. The other type of shield bash is a strike on an adjacent opponent made with a shield. In this case, make a resolution check against your character's General Fighting rating minus the target's Movement or General Prowess rating. The target of the bash is knocked down only on a red result. Again, no damage is done.

Weapons of Desperation

Lacking a better weapon, your character may sometimes be forced to fight with whatever comes to hand - chair legs, fireplace pokers, pointed sticks, or the nearest big rock. The weapon description chart includes some suggested equivalents that you and the referee can use to approximate stats for an improvised weapon.

Fighting With Two Weapons

Characters with the two-weapon fighting talent are trained to do just that. Only one-handed weapons can be used (no halberds or battleaxes, for example). Some common combinations are sword and dagger, sword and sword, or dagger and handaxe.

Anyone fighting with two weapons must designate an action - attack or defend - for each. If attacking with both, the first attack (which weapon is up to the player) occurs on the character's initiative, and the second occurs at the end of the combat turn. If attacking with one and defending with the other, the attack automatically falls at the end of the combat turn.

Fighting with two weapons is not considered multiple actions, so the multiple actions rules don't apply. There is, however, a penalty applied to the second attack (see Combat Modifiers).

Knock-Outs

Every so often, your character may want to quickly knock an opponent unconscious rather than dealing lethal damage. To do so, you must announce your intention to attempt a knock-out during declaration of intention. Then make a normal attack. If the result is red, you have knocked the target out. On any other color, the blow was not strong enough or missed the vital spot. A character thus knocked out remains unconscious for 1-10 minutes (12-120 combat turns).

Defending

When you choose to defend, you are focusing all your efforts on avoiding injury and foregoing any attempt to injure your opponent.

Your opponent, if attacking rather than defending himself, makes an attack in the normal manner. If he misses, nothing more need be done in this combat turn. If he hits, however, you then make a resolution check against your weapon or General Fighting talent (N.B. in this case, nothing is subtracted from your rating). On a white result, your defense wasn't good enough and the attack hits with full force. A green result reduces the damage done by 1 point; a yellow result reduces it by 2, orange by 3, and red by 4.

Characters who have a Strength Bonus (q.v.) or are using a weapon that gives a Combat Bonus cannot be completely defended against. Their might is so great or their weapon so massive that some force will always penetrate a defense.

Missile Combat

Missile combat is only possible between opponents who are not adjacent and are armed with some manner of projectile.

Each missile weapon has a short, medium and long range. A missile weapon is ineffective beyond its long range; it may be able to travel farther, but will have lost too much energy to do damage. Range is given as the number of feet the weapon can travel. On the weapons list, missile weapon ranges are given as follows:

The first number is short range, the second is medium range, and the last is long range.

Aiming

Combatants making a missile attack are not required to choose an aiming point. Typically an assailant will simply select a target, launch an attack toward that target, then roll on the random hit location table if the shot hits its mark.

To aim for a specific location, you must call your shot during declaration of intention. The attack is resolved normally (resolution check against missile weapon or General Fighting talent minus the target's Movement). However, the shot is only successful on a red result. Any other result means the shot missed the target entirely.

Combat Modifiers

Combat modifiers are applied when one fighter or the other is in an advantageous or disadvantageous position compared to the other. All modifiers are applied to the column against which the dice roll is compared. A favorable modifier causes a shift to the right; an unfavorable one shifts to the left. A single attack may be subject to any number of modifiers.

Fallen/lower position: Applies to characters who have been knocked to the ground, or are attacked by an opponent who is mounted, atop a wall, or otherwise at a higher elevation.

Obscured: Anything hidden from vision but not actually behind hard cover is considered obscured.

Range modifiers: Applied to missile weapons fired at targets within the given range.

Damage

Damage is inflicted on characters in two distinct ways. The first, more common way, is by loss of points from the Damage Talent rating. The second is by infliction of a Specific Wound.

When a character scores a hit in combat and the result of the resolution check is green, yellow, or orange, the attack does 1, 2, or 3 points of damage, respectively. The amount of damage done may be modified by a Strength Bonus, Weapon Bonus, armor, or Defense check success.

When a character scores a hit with a red result, 4 points of damage are inflicted and there is a chance the victim has suffered a Specific Wound. The 4 points of damage may be modified by any of the factors mentioned above, but the chance of a Specific Wound remains.

The Specific Wound inflicted depends on the aiming point and type (armed or unarmed) of the attack. Effects range from outright death to temporary loss of use of a limb.

Weapon Bonuses

Certain weapons have a Weapon Bonus (which can in fact be positive or negative) that modifies damage done with them. It is possible for damage to be reduced to zero if the degree of success on the attack resolution check is low enough. Each weapon's Damage Bonus, if any, is listed on the weapon chart.

Strength Bonuses

Characters with great strength deal additional damage in melee. For every 10 points of Strength Talent, add 1 point to damage done in armed or unarmed melee.

Armor and Shields

Armor reduces the amount of damage done to a character by an attack. Unfortunately, its added weight slows the wearer and makes him easier to hit.

Armor is worn in pieces. Each piece protects one or more areas of the body. Which part(s) of the body a piece of armor covers is given on the equipment chart. The chart also gives the number of points by which a piece of armor reduces damage done to the area(s).

Normally each body area can be protected by only one piece of armor. However, some pieces of armor only cover part of an area. These can be used in combination with other pieces that protect different parts of the same area. When pieces can be used in combination, add the damage reduction for each piece to find the total protection given to the area.

Esmis is girding his loins - and everything else he can - for battle. First he puts on a studded leather kilt, protecting his gut and thighs. He also straps on brazen greaves (covering his shins) and a breastplate (covering his chest). Finally he dons an iron helmet to protect his head. All told, his armor will stop 2 points of damage to the legs (1 from the kilt plus 1 from the greaves), 1 to the gut, 2 to the chest, and 2 to his head.

Shields stop damage in the same way pieces of armor do, but can only protect one side of the body. A shield carried on the left arm can be used to protect the head, left arm, chest, gut, and left leg, but not the right arm or leg. A shield can only be brought to bear against one combat attack (melee or missile) per combat turn. When used to block an attack, the shield's rating is added to the ratings of any and all other pieces of armor protecting the same location.

Most pieces of armor make their wearer less mobile. The equipment chart lists the movement penalty, if any, imposed by wearing a given piece of armor. Add the move penalty for all pieces of armor a character is wearing, then subtract the total from the character's Movement or General Prowess rating for the combat in which the armor is worn. This may very well result in a negative rating.

Damage Points

Whenever a character suffers damage from an attack, subtract the number of points of damage from the character's Damage Talent rating. As long as the rating remains a positive number, there is no effect unless the character is called upon to make a resolution check against her Damage rating.

It's when a character's Damage rating reaches zero that the trouble starts. Reaching a Damage of 0 does not mean that the character instantly drops dead. However, every time a character whose current Damage rating is 0 or less takes additional damage, he must make a resolution check against that Damage rating. If the result is red, the character can continue as normal. If the result is green, yellow, or orange, the character drops unconscious. He will regain consciousness in 1-10 hours. If the result is white, alas, the character dies on the spot.

Enemies reduced to a 0 Damage rating do not get to make a resolution check; they fall instantly. Foes make resolution checks against their current damage rating to continue in action, just like PCs.

Specific Wounds

Whenever a character scores a red result on an attack resolution check, there is a chance she has inflicted a Specific Wound on her opponent. The chance of dealing a Specific Wound is not affected by defending, armor, shield use, strength bonus, or weapon bonus. The Specific Wound chart details what wounds are caused by a hit to each location. The character struck has the chance to make a Damage or General Endurance^[4] resolution check to avoid the effects of a Specific Wound; the table gives the result needed to avoid each.

If your character suffers a Specific Wound, make note in the Character Folio of the type of wound and the circumstances in which he received it. He will suffer the effects of that Specific Wound until it is healed. Some Specific Wounds may have effects that last long after the physical damage has healed.

Like PCs, foes make resolution checks to avoid the effects of Specific Wounds. Enemies, on the other hand, automatically suffer them.

Healing

Healing can be either natural or magical (but in a sword-and-sorcery world, don't count on the latter). A character on complete rest will regain a number of Damage points equal to her General Endurance rating plus 1 (thus, never fewer than 1). A character who engages in strenuous activity heals only 1 point per day. A character may still travel slowly, putter around the house, or do light chores while resting.

Damage points are restored at the end of each day. Needless to say, you can never heal more Damage points than you had originally.

Mass Combat

For fights involving large numbers of combatants, the procedure is somewhat different.

The players are put in charge of one side of the battle, and the referee of the other. Each side secretly divides their forces into three units - left, center, and right. Each may also keep up to three units in reserve. A unit composed of troops who bear a variety of weapons or are equipped with different armor is given a weapon and armor rating that is the average of the total value of all unit members.

Each unit is given a leader, who can be a PC or an NPC. If the leader is incapacitated, someone else must step into the breach. Each side in the conflict must also have an overall commander. This commander must also be replaced if incapacitated.

Each side now reveals the composition and placement of their units to the other; battle is joined! Side A's Left Unit is considered to be facing Side B's Right Unit, A's Right faces B's Left, and their Center Units face one another. Each reserve unit may be positioned behind any other unit.

As a visual aid, mark out a 5- by 7-square grid and note the square in which each unit is placed. Each square represents 100 feet. The referee will determine how far the opposing forces are when battle commences. It's very rare for an engagement to start with the antagonists already in contact, unless environmnetal factors (e.g. thick forest or dense fog) have let them get nose to nose without sighting one another.

Units not in contact with an enemy may move 1 square on the X or Y axis, but not diagonally, per combat round. The unit may be facing any direction after moving. A unit in contact with an enemy unit must Flee or Withdraw (see below) to move. Any unit can change its facing at any time.

The force commander can move one square in any direction, including diagonally, per turn. The commander may seize control of any friendly unit into whose square s/he moves. The commander then performs all the functions of that unit's leader for the turn, including engaging in leader-to-leader combat (see below).

Units may only attack adjacent enemies; they may not attack on the diagonal. Only one unit can be in each square. Units on several sides of a single enemy unit may gang up on it. The number of fighters in each coordinating unit is added together for purposes of determining whether and by what ratio the defenders are outnumbered (which imposes a negative modifier on the defenders).

Mass Combat Rounds

A mass combat round is divided into four segments. Before the start of each round, the commander of each side decides what action each unit will take for that round. The unit will perform that action for the entire round. The choices are:

• attack

• defend

• shoot

• withdraw

A unit may attack the adjacent enemy unit it is facing. If more than one enemy unit is adjacent, it can't attack both at once.

A unit that defends is concentrating on avoiding damage rather than inflicting it.

If the unit's members carry missile weapons, they may shoot at any enemy unit to which the shooters are not adjacent.

A unit that withdraws is moving away from its enemy while actively defending.

Segment 1: Leader Combat

During the first round, the leaders of opposing units duel one-on-one. This is resolved using the regular combat rules. If two or more units are attacking a single enemy unit, both the attackers' leaders may attack the defenders' leader. A unit whose leader suffers an injury or specific wound, or is killed outright, is subject to a negative modifier when fighting the rest of the round.

Segments 2-4: Unit Combat

Now the struggle between the units' members is resolved. The attacking unit makes a check on the resolution chart against the average of the members' Talent with their weapons. The results of the resolution check do not indicate points of damage done in this case; rather, they indicate the number of fighters lost from the defending unit. Results are determined for both sides at the same time. Each unit makes a check every segment to determine the damage it inflicts on its target unit.

One hundred pikemen face off against 50 cavalry. The pikemen score a marginal success. The arrogant horsemen have neglected to wear any armor, so their number incapacitated is 10% of the number of pikemen - in this case, 10 riders.

The number of casualties inflicted is always rounded up.

Armor reduces the number of fighters lost as follows:

Since mass combat doesn't use hit locations, armor protection for all parts of the body is figured into a composite armor value. To figure a unit's overall armor rating, take the protection rating for each body part, multiply that rating by the values in the chart below, total them, and divide by 100. In this case round down.

After their unfortunate encounter with the pikemen, our cavalry decide they had better armor up before the next fight. They don leather jacks, leather arm protectors and steel helmets, and take along a small shield for good measure. The unit gets 1 chest (1 x 25) plus 1 gut (1 x 25) plus 2 arm (2 x 10) plus 2 head (2 x 10) plus a shield bonus, or 25+25+10+10+20+80=170. The total of 170 is divided by 100; the result of 1.7 is further rounded down to 1. The cavalry's kit will now reduce their losses by 5 points. This means that the next time they face off against 100 pikemen, rather than losing 10 riders to a marginal success (100 x 10%), they will lose only 5 (100 x (10-5%)).

If a unit's members are not all wearing the same armor, figure the value for each portion of the group that is, then average that out. This value (mercifully) does not change no matter who in the unit should happen to be felled.

Morale

At the end of each round, if:

• the unit leader is slain,

• the number of unit fighters down reaches 1/3 their original number,

• the number down reaches 2/3 the original number, or

• the force commander is slain

a morale check must be made. If the force commander dies, all units must check morale. Otherwise, only the afflicted unit checks morale.

To test morale, the unit leader (or force commander, if s/he is with that unit) makes a resolution check against the average of her/his Will and the troops' average Will. A leaderless unit uses only the troops' average Will. Failure on the check means the unit flees. (In extreme circumstances, such as being outnumbered five to one or facing a horde of rampaging monsters, the referee may decide that the unit will flee on a marginal success as well.)

When a unit flees or its numbers are reduced to zero, it is removed from the battle grid. If the unit leader is alive, s/he may join any adjacent allied unit. Otherwise s/he is captured by the enemy. The space occupied by a unit that flees or is dispersed may immediately be occupied by a reserve unit if the reserve was adjacent at the time the destroyed unit was broken. Otherwise the enemy unit may immediately take the defeated unit's space.

A unit that withdraws moves back one space. Its enemy may advance one space for free.

Modifiers

A unit's combat effectiveness is subject to a large number of influences. The table below shows the modifier, in column shifts, applied to a unit under certain circumstances.

The condition or achievements of a unit leader affect only that unit. The commander influences all units, except for the presence bonus which is only applied to a single unit.

1. This is the first instance of which I'm aware of what have come to be generally known as "mook rules", which let the stars of the story lay out large numbers of extras without slowing down the narration overmuch.

2. "[M]uch more" is a bit of an overstatement. Once you've got the hang of it, task resolution actually goes quite quickly.

3. This seems to imply that even if you're facing a crowd of enemies, you target one individual to rush past.

4. At least, I'm assuming it's a Damage check. The original text says "The Specific Wound Chart lists ... the talent checked against ...". The chart of course does no such thing.